Community Reputation

About nicksaiz65

Hi guys. I'm programming a level player in Blitz Plus, and it is coming along quite nicely. In fact, in the near future, I plan on releasing the file along with a level so that people can test my game. However, I don't know what I should do about the filepaths to many files that I need to load in on different computers. On my own computer, it is easy because I know exactly where the files are. I just have to tell the computer to look at the file in "C:\Users\Nick\Desktop\LEVELDATA" and so on. However, on other computers, I have no idea where the users could be saving my files. Therefore, I will need to find the location of all of the folders. I couldn't find any functions in Blitz Plus that would help me. The closest thing I could find was a CallDLL function. Would that help at all? My other option is just to save everything within the same directory, but I would rather not do that simply for the sake of neatness. Any ideas? Thanks

Hi, guys. I'm programming a level player for a fairly large project I am working on now. It is a 2D platformer, which I want to be about 5 hours long in the end. Right now, I am working on making some early level prototypes, and testing out a few simple mechanics. Once I finish the game, which I want to do in about a year, I want to sell it. I am 100% sure that I can program this game all the way through. However, the thing I am worried about is design. I'm a noob at game design, and even though I've read some articles on it, I'm really inexperienced(as in I've never done it before.) Do you guys think I could design a high quality game given my skills? If not, what should I do? Also, do you think its feasible to be able to make money off this, with this being my first game? I could really use some cash And if so, where should I look/what should I do to sell it? I was thinking Steam. Thanks for the input in advance.

Bacterius, sorry if this is a stupid question, but could you please post some pseudocode? Because if I just keep letting player\x# increase, wouldn't the player eventually run off the edge of the screen?

Hi, guys. I just recently finished a level editor for my 2D platformer. I am now working on a program that will actually play the levels that I have created. However, once I started making the camera system, I began to have problems. I want the camera to constantly keep the player in the center of the screen. The screen is 1280 pixels wide. I am trying to always keep the player's x value(represented by player\x#) at 640. So, optimally, the player will always stay at that position. As the player moves, cameraX will keep increasing, and we can scroll the map. I am programming in Blitz Plus. Here's my code for trying to keep the player at the center of the screen:
player\xCameraBoundingBox# = player\x# + 640
If player\xCameraBoundingBox# > 1280 ;if this box has passed the edge of the screen
cameraX = cameraX + (player\xCameraBoundingBox# - 1280) ;add it to camera x
player\x# = player\x# - (player\xCameraBoundingBox# - 1280)
EndIf
However, this poses some problems. Sometimes when the player tries to make a jump, they will be "pushed" back and fall to their death. However, if I don't tell the game to keep the player at the center of the screen, the player will eventually be able to run off the screen, or they will be pressed against the edge of the screen and will not be able to see anything that is coming.
Do you guys have any ideas on how to fix this problem? Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
Here's a link to an article that shows what kind of camera system I am trying to make. I am trying to make a platform-locked camera system.
http://soherearemyid...er-cameras.html

I have recently finished a level editor that I plan to use to create levels for a 2D platformer that I am working on. Now, I am working on a program that will actually play the levels and let the user play them. However, I intend to sell this game, so it will need to be fast, and run the same speed on all computers. For it to do this, the main game loop will need to be structured well. I understand I will need to use timers, especially for rendering the game, but what would be the best way to go about this? Also, does it matter what order I do the tasks in? For example, should I take their input before I draw them? When should I test if they are on solid ground? Also, I am programming in Blitz Plus, so pseudocode would be appreciated if possible. Thanks.

I just recently finished my tile map editor for my game. Now, I am beginning to program the actual game itself. To get the character movement to feel right, I decided to look up some articles and physics on great 2D platformers. But, I am beginning to become confused on this article. I am having trouble understanding anything past Slopes and Curves. Could you guys explain this to me in an easy to understand manner? Sorry if this is a stupid question By the way, if it helps, I'm programming in Blitz Plus. Thanks.
Here's the article: http://info.sonicret...es#Introduction

I've been working on a pixel art piece to help myself get better. I am trying to draw an anchor. I am not finished yet, but I have noticed something. With the exception of the edges, it looks very flat. I tried to add some shading, but then it looks just plain bad. Can you guys tell me how to make it more 3d looking? Or can you help me out with the art itself? I've attached the image I am using as a reference, and my actual piece. Thanks.

I'm a beginner in programming. I am able to program fairly well in Blitz Plus, and I just started teaching myself C#. I've gotten together with a group of friends to attempt to create a Mario/Mega Man esque game. There are two programmers on the project, myself(I will be programming in Blitz Plus) and another friend(who is somewhat of a beginner in Java, and wants to program in that.) I've read that in many projects, programmers use several languages. I'd like to do this in my project, but how would this work? Also, how would our code interact with each other? For example, if I declared a variable in my program, how would the programmer using Java interact with it? How would we combine our work together once we are finished? If anyone could tell us a way to get our code to work together, it would certainly be helpful. Thanks.

I've decided to start working on a project to help me mature as a programmer. I'm just starting out, programming in Blitz Plus. I'm also teaching myself C# at the moment, but I am nowhere near good enough to make a game in that language. I think I should start of by making a fairly simple platformer, that should be fast and action based. I would like a few puzzles that involve the main gimmick of the game to be interspersed throughout the game as well. I decided that the gimmick of the game should be for the main character to be able to stretch his arms like rubber to aid him in platforming. However, I am having trouble coming up with ideas for how the main character could actually use these powers in the levels. The levels should be built around the ability, and force the player to use the power in clever ways. Other than using the power like a grappling hook and letting the user stretch their hand through a mirror, then have the hand appear elsewhere, I can't think of any ideas. I was wondering if you guys could give me some ideas for the levels based around these powers or help me think of some different moves the player could use with the power to get me started?
Also, I was hoping that this game would be about as long as a Mario title(it will also be broken into different levels like Mario.) I am only a single programmer working on this project(also a beginning pixel artist). Is this too much work, since I am the only one working on this project?
I apologize for the wall of text. Any help is appreciated

I'm working on a fangame called Megaman X Abridged. However, I am having trouble coming up with any ideas for a story. Maybe you guys could help me get started with one? I know this doesn't have to be Final Fantasy storytelling, but I don't want to release a game with no storyline. I don't want to release a game that is like "oh noez the Mavericks are attacking the city stop them" either. Could you guys give me some ideas? Thanks.

I am trying to make an image of Squall Leonheart from Final Fantasy 8. I've attached what I have so far, and the image that I am using as a reference. I need to make curves to put in the individual strands of these hair. However, some of these curves are irregular, and therefore I am having trouble.

[indent=1] I recently stumbled across a pixel art tutorial that mentioned making curved lines.http://opengameart.org/content/chapter-2-lines-and-curves It mentions how to make curved lines, but I am still having trouble making them. Could someone help me understand the rles of curved lines and how to go about making them in more depth? Thanks.

I plan on making a 2D SNES style RPG in the future.(Think Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, etc.) Since I can't hire an artist, and I may need some graphics that I won't be able to find in free graphics packs, I am currently teaching myself Graphics Gale so that I can make pixel art when the time comes. I have come across dithering online, to which helps your graphics look better. However, I am having problems with it, and it sometimes looks bad whenever I use it. With this image I have attatched, the dithering I tried to use makes it look bad. It ruins the texture of the image,(I want it to look smooth, like metal) and the dithering pattern is painfully obvious. I don't want the dithering to be obvious like it is here in my graphics. So, my questions are "how would you do dithering and make it look good?" "Why does my image look so bad?" "should you use dithering with everything?" and "how can you dither without ruining the texture of an image?" Thanks.

I am trying to make a tile map editor in Blitz Plus. To do this, I divided the screen up into a grid. However, I am having trouble actually telling where the mouse is. I have tried a couple methods, but none of them worked. Each tile is 40 pixels high and 40 pixels wide.
First we would actually draw the grid using this code:
Function DrawBoxes()
;draw the horizontal rectangles
For horiz = 40 To 600 Step 40 ;-----------
Rect 0,horiz,800,5,1
Next
;draw the vertical rectangles
For verti = 40 To 800 Step 40
Rect verti,0,5,600,1
Next
End Function
Here's my first method for detecting where the mouse is:
For columns = 40 To 800 Step 40 ;we will actually be using the coordinate positions for this
For rows = 40 To 600 Step 40
If MouseX() < (rows + 20) And MouseX() > (rows - 20) ;if it is inside the box horizontally ;we are testing this from the center of the box
If MouseY() < (columns + 20) And MouseY() > (columns - 20) ;if it is inside the box vertically
Color 255,0,0
Rect rows,columns,40,40,1 ;draw a red box so the user knows it is selected
EndIf
EndIf
;EndIf
Next
Next
However, this method lets the user select multiple boxes at once, and if you decrease the size of the hitbox, it barely works at all.
Method 2:
For columns = 40 To 800 Step 40 ;we will actually be using the coordinate positions for this
For rows = 40 To 600 Step 40
If RectsOverlap(rows,columns,25,25,MouseX(),MouseY(),12,21) ;use a smaller hitbox for the rectangle
Color 255,0,0
Rect rows,columns,40,40,1
Endif
Next
Next
However, this method barely works either, and if you increase the size of the hitbox, it lets the user select multiple boxes at once.
Any ideas on how to tell where the mouse is in multiple boxes that are right beside each other? Thanks.